Budget 2007 | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/budget2007
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Thu, 22 Feb 2018 05:20:13 GMT2018-02-22T05:20:13Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Budget 2007: the overweening pride that came before calamitous fallhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/apr/22/elliott-budget-economics-darling
<p>The size of the deficit. The amount by which the economy will contract this year. The boost to growth from tax and spending measures. Much remains unknown about Alistair Darling's budget today. But one thing is certain: the speech will bear little resemblance to that delivered by Gordon Brown just over two years ago. </p><p>Britain's longest-serving chancellor since Gladstone delivered his 11th and valedictory budget on the spring equinox in March 2007. Strains had started to appear in the US housing market, with activity softening and prices starting to sag. Yet in the UK, life was good and Brown saw more than green shoots: he saw an economic blooming as a result of his prudent tilling. Property was hot, the City was buoyant and the mania for private equity was in full swing. The seizure in the markets caused by the realisation that banks were awash with worthless sub-prime mortgage debt was four months away.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/apr/22/elliott-budget-economics-darling">Continue reading...</a>Budget 2007Budget 2007BudgetGordon BrownPolitics pastEconomicsEconomic policyPoliticsBusinessBudget 2009Tue, 21 Apr 2009 23:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/apr/22/elliott-budget-economics-darlingLarry Elliott, economics editor2009-04-21T23:01:00ZMPs demand budget transparencyhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/apr/23/politics.economicpolicy
<p>An influential group of MPs has called on the UK Treasury to be more open about the winners and losers in future budgets.</p><p>In a report on <a href="http://business.theguardian.com/budget2007/0,,2028552,00.html">the 2007 budget</a> published today, the House of Commons Treasury committee said the government should be clear about how changes introduced affect families and individuals.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/apr/23/politics.economicpolicy">Continue reading...</a>BusinessPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007MoneyBudgetMon, 23 Apr 2007 14:34:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/apr/23/politics.economicpolicyGraeme Wearden2007-04-23T14:34:38ZGordon's Budget 2007: some smoke, all mirrorshttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy
The Budget headlines are all about the tax cuts, but some careful watchers are accusing the Chancellor of sleight of hand, writes Heather Stewart<p>Gordon Brown's Budgets have often stunned watchers into weary submission, with mind-numbing statistics and complicated policy-tweaks. But his final outing with the red box last Wednesday was anything but boring: a 2p cut in income tax, the same for corporation tax, and lashings of political drama.</p><p>Trailing the Tories in the polls, Brown delivered one of the most controversial Budgets in years, using dramatic tax-cut pledges to box the youthful David Cameron into a corner. Cameron and his shadow Chancellor, George Osborne, had been expected to offer the voters headline cuts in tax rates, funded by rises elsewhere in the system.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy">Continue reading...</a>BusinessPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007Budget 2007BudgetSun, 25 Mar 2007 00:18:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicyHeather Stewart2007-03-25T00:18:29ZRuth Sunderland: Brown's legacy looks good - at least on the surfacehttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/economicpolicy.politics
<p>Gordon Brown's swansong Budget was meant to be a political tour de force but ended up as a con trick.</p><p>His theatrical flourish of a 2p cut in the basic rate of income tax, coupled with a reduction in corporation tax for large companies, temporarily took the wind out of the Conservatives' sails. But financial commentators - and many voters - are by now too well-versed in his ways to take the cuts at face value and it did not take too long to figure out that the 'giveaway' was no such thing. The reality is that, as Brown himself said, the Budget is broadly neutral. Cutting the basic rate will cost the Exchequer £8.1bn. That is clawed back by removing the 10 per cent starting rate of income tax on people's first slice of earnings, which will haul in £7.3bn, and by raising the ceiling for National Insurance contributions, netting the Treasury £1.1bn.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/economicpolicy.politics">Continue reading...</a>BusinessEconomic policyPoliticsBudget 2007Budget 2007BudgetSun, 25 Mar 2007 00:13:50 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/economicpolicy.politicsRuth Sunderland2007-03-25T00:13:50ZEducation sums don't add uphttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy1
<p>Gordon Brown's aspiration to match spending on state school pupils with the £8,000 a head a year enjoyed by schools in the private sector is a distant dream, if the education spending plans announced in last week's Budget are anything to go by.</p><p>Education spending will grow by an average of 2.5 per cent a year in real terms until 2011 - compared with 4.4 per cent since 1997.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy1">Continue reading...</a>BusinessPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007Budget 2007BudgetSun, 25 Mar 2007 00:12:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy1Heather Stewart, economics correspondent2007-03-25T00:12:37ZWilliam Keegan: From red, to green, to blue: is Brown showing his true colours?https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy2
<p>It was my good friend Gordon Brown's second Conservative Budget, but his backbenchers didn't seem to notice the significance of its colour, so pleased were they that the outgoing Chancellor had momentarily wrong-footed the Opposition.</p><p>In fact David Cameron bounced back well in the face of the 2p tax cut that he could not possibly have expected in his preparations for one of the most difficult Parliamentary speeches of the year - namely the response to a Budget that often even the Chancellor's colleagues don't know about until the last minute. And Ming Campbell, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, did well to spot that the 2p cut was being financed largely by the removal of the 10 per cent band, and that something like a fifth of taxpayers were going to be losers from Gordon Brown's Great Tax Reform.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy2">Continue reading...</a>BusinessPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007BudgetSun, 25 Mar 2007 00:12:37 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/25/politics.economicpolicy2William Keegan2007-03-25T00:12:37ZLeader: The premier in waiting has much to provehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/25/leaders.economy
<p>The era when winning a Commons joust was the same thing as winning an argument in the country passed long ago. On closer inspection, it was clear that Mr Brown had moved money around, giving to some and taking from others to deliver a budget whose net effect was broadly neutral.</p><p>Had he been an ordinary Chancellor and this an ordinary budget, there would be nothing noteworthy about this trick. But this Chancellor is also a Prime Minister presumptive and this was his last showpiece budget. It was designed with three political goals in mind.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/25/leaders.economy">Continue reading...</a>Economic policyBusinessPoliticsLabour party leadershipLabourBudget 2007UK newsBudget 2008BudgetSun, 25 Mar 2007 00:12:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/25/leaders.economyLeader2007-03-25T00:12:02ZLetters: A mixed bag from the chancellorhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/budget2007.guardianletters
<p>Disability Alliance is disappointed that, beyond welfare reform proposals that look to move disabled people closer to work, there is almost nothing in the budget that even begins to deal with the ungenerous welfare benefits system (Report, March 22). Quite simply, disabled people do not receive sufficient income through welfare benefits and tax credits to meet their extra needs.</p><p>There are more disabled adults of working age living in poverty than either children or pensioners. There is some evidence that employers are becoming more likely to make adjustments. However, too many are still not recruiting or retaining disabled workers. Around one in six workers lose their job after developing an impairment or long-term health condition.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/budget2007.guardianletters">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007BudgetFri, 23 Mar 2007 23:55:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/budget2007.guardianlettersGuardian Staff2007-03-23T23:55:42ZHalf of voters believe budget makes them worse off, says pollhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/economicpolicy.budget2007
<p>Almost half of all voters believe that they will be worse off as a result of the budget, despite a 2p cut in the basic rate of income tax, according to an opinion poll today.</p><p>The YouGov survey for the Daily Telegraph found that 48% believed they would be worse off, while another 28% said that the budget would not make much difference to them either way. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/economicpolicy.budget2007">Continue reading...</a>BusinessMoneyPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007Budget 2007UK newsBudget 2007BudgetFri, 23 Mar 2007 13:00:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/economicpolicy.budget2007Press Association2007-03-23T13:00:26ZChanges force more reliance on tax credits, says thinktankhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/budget2007.thinktanks
<strong>&#183;</strong> Single adult low earners likely to be worse off <br /> <strong>&#183;</strong> Extra &#163;1.7bn goes to minimise impact on poor<p>People on low incomes will have to rely on in-work top-ups to their pay packets to avoid being worse off as a result of this week's budget changes to income tax and national insurance, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said yesterday. </p><p>As the political row over the chancellor's 11th budget rumbled on, the UK's leading independent experts on tax and spending said that while it was not one of Gordon Brown's typical "Robin Hood" packages, the measures overall would help low-income families. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/budget2007.thinktanks">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007ThinktanksMoneyPoliticsSocial exclusionEconomic policyBudget 2007UK newsWelfareState benefitsPovertyBudgetFri, 23 Mar 2007 10:15:40 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/23/budget2007.thinktanksLarry Elliott, economics editor2007-03-23T10:15:40ZBudget was fair to people, says Brownhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/mar/23/conservatives.economy
<B>&#183;</B> Tories renew attacks on 'stealthy' character<br> <B>&#183;</B> Chancellor promises collegiate approach<p>Mr Brown had earlier admitted that accusations he displayed Stalinist ruthlessness were "not something you want to hear", but insisted in a highly personal interview that he could be collegiate and inclusive. He also insisted that his 2p cut to the basic rate of income tax was intended to simplify, not cut, taxes as part of a responsible budget. "It wasn't a short-term giveaway, it was a major tax reform for the long-term," he told BBC Radio 4.</p><p>But the shadow chancellor attempted to regain the initiative as he opened the second day of debate, insisting that the 2p cut was a "con trick" because it was paid for by axeing the 10p starting rate and realigning National Insurance thresholds. He said it would leave 3.5 million working families worse off, according to one estimate. Mr Osborne added: "That is the extraordinary overnight story of this stealthy budget. The chancellor taxed the low paid to fund his con-trick on middle England."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/mar/23/conservatives.economy">Continue reading...</a>PoliticsUK newsBusinessConservativesEconomic policyBudget 2007Budget 2007Budget 2008BudgetFri, 23 Mar 2007 01:25:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/mar/23/conservatives.economyTania Branigan, political correspondent2007-03-23T01:25:35ZLeader: How red is Brown?https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/23/business.politics
<p>Gordon the showman is a class act all right, but for at least the next few months Mr Brown has to hold down a day job as manager of our economy, our taxes and our public spending. The two roles don't necessarily fit together snugly, and this budget gives some cause to worry that the need to gain political advantage may have taken the upper hand over Labour's traditional distributional priorities. When he first took office Mr Brown was so adamant about the need to shore up economic credibility that he stuck to the Tories' tight spending plans, risking unpopularity within his party and with the electorate. Leftwingers initially complained about the lack of obvious measures funnelling wealth from the rich to the poor. But Mr Brown has done just that, by more subtle means. Over a decade he has boosted the income of the poorest third of society by £30 a week, while hitting the top tenth by a similar amount. It is a style of economics that could be called unheroic progressivism: not flashy or headline-grabbing but redistributive none the less.</p><p>But as he faced the media yesterday Mr Brown emphasised an entirely different agenda - the simplification of tax. With businesses, for example, the strategy was to widen the tax base (by clamping down on labyrinthine allowances) and then hand back the cash by cutting the rate. In income tax, too, things got simpler, for by ditching the 10% starting rate Mr Brown shifts from a three- to a two-band system. Such reforms make for smoother tax administration. This is a worthy aim, but not one that has previously concerned a chancellor who has never been shy of asking the tax system to pick up new tasks, from poverty alleviation to promoting research.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/23/business.politics">Continue reading...</a>BusinessPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007UK newsBudget 2008BudgetFri, 23 Mar 2007 00:10:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/mar/23/business.politicsLeader2007-03-23T00:10:53Z£50m to help save Africans at risk from deforestationhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics1
<p>Britain will lead the way in helping developing countries address climate change, the chancellor said yesterday.</p><p>He announced £50m for a 10-country initiative across central Africa to prevent the destruction of the second largest rainforest in the world, which is based in the Congo basin countries. The project will be led by Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win the Nobel prize for environmental activism in Africa. It is designed to help 50 million people whose livelihoods are under threat from deforestation and government policies.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics1">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007PoliticsGreen politicsEconomic policyEnvironmentClimate changeDeforestationBudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 15:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics1Angela Balakrishnan2007-03-22T15:00:00ZI bear no grudges, claims Brownhttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/mar/22/economy.labourleadership
<p>The news will come as a surprise to those who view the chancellor as having had "the longest sulk in history" over Mr Blair's refusal so far to hand him the keys to No 10.</p><p>But in an attempt to show a softer side, Mr Brown today described himself as "a family man who has two young children", who had changed as a result of his experiences in recent years.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/mar/22/economy.labourleadership">Continue reading...</a>PoliticsEconomic policyUK newsBusinessLabour party leadershipMoneyBudget 2007LabourBudget 2007Budget 2007Budget 2008BudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 12:52:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/mar/22/economy.labourleadershipMark Oliver and agencies2007-03-22T12:52:31ZDavid Walker: The bigger picture in Gordon Brown's budgethttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/mar/22/money.economicpolicy
Give Gordon his due, public spending is more effective and public services better value. But there are further struggles ahead, says David Walker<p>To those who say nothing ever changes - "they're all the same" - and specifically those reluctant to give Gordon Brown his due, a table in the voluminous papers published with the budget might be of interest.</p><p>It shows the size of the state over recent decades. Measured by what government spends in comparison to the size of the economy (GDP), it says - surprise - the Blair-Brown animal is exactly the same size as the wheezing and discredited beast presided over by John Major in 1996. It's no bigger than the organism ruled by Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson at the height of their hubristic arrogance in 1988.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/mar/22/money.economicpolicy">Continue reading...</a>SocietyMoneyEconomic policyBusinessBudget 2007Budget 2007Public services policyBudget 2007BudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 12:39:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/mar/22/money.economicpolicyDavid Walker2007-03-22T12:39:25ZSale of debt raises fears of commercial rates of interesthttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.highereducation
<p>Undergraduates must not be forced to pay back their fee and maintenance loans at commercial rates of interest as a result of the chancellor's decision to sell £6bn of the outstanding debt to private companies, lecturers' and student unions warned last night.</p><p>They fear that the government has long-term ambitions to abandon the inflation-only interest rate, which cover repayments on their loans, and charge higher commercial rates on their borrowings. These already top £6000 a year for this year's first-year students.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.highereducation">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007Higher educationMoneyPoliticsStudentsStudent financeEconomic policyEducationBorrowing & debtBudgetLecturersThu, 22 Mar 2007 10:21:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.highereducationJames Meikle2007-03-22T10:21:53Z600,000 over 65s to be exempt from income taxhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.money1
<p>Pensioner groups yesterday welcomed the chancellor's proposal to take almost 600,000 over 65s out of paying income tax next year, but said the gains failed to offset rises over the last year in council tax, fuel and energy bills.</p><p>They also argued Gordon Brown had failed in his budget to tackle poverty among the 2 million pensioners who survive on the basic state pension because they fail to claim means tested benefits.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.money1">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007MoneyPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007UK newsBudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 09:36:48 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.money1Phillip Inman2007-03-22T09:36:48ZPackage to lift 200,000 children out of poverty is welcomed but more investment is vital, say family groupshttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.money
<p>The budget's package of measures for families and children has been welcomed as a important step towards the government's 2010 target of halving child poverty. But more investment is vital if that target is to be met, say anti-poverty groups.</p><p>The package will mean 200,000 fewer children in poverty, according to the government. Households with children will be, on average, £200 a year better off, while those in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average, £350 a year better off.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.money">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007MoneyPoliticsEconomic policyBudget 2007UK newsBudget 2007BudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 09:35:58 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.moneyJill Papworth2007-03-22T09:35:58Z£6bn for collapsed schemes fails to satisfy campaignershttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics6
<p>The government yesterday failed to appease workers who lost their pensions when their employers collapsed, despite giving a £6bn boost to their rescue fund.</p><p>In what appeared to be a dramatic U-turn after four years of protests by unions and pensioner groups, Gordon Brown said he would increase funding for the pensions lifeboat from £2bn to £8bn. He argued that the funds would cover the claims for 125,000 workers, which he said would secure 80% of their expected retirement incomes.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics6">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007PoliticsMoneyEconomic policyBudget 2007BudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 09:03:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics6Phillip Inman2007-03-22T09:03:20ZFears that TV spectrum will be used as cash cowhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics9
<p>The Treasury hopes to raise a further £36bn over the next four years, selling off public assets including the student loan book and Ministry of Defence land such as London's Chelsea Barracks, to help fund the chancellor's spending plans and income tax cut.</p><p>Already £12bn worth of public assets, mostly land and buildings, have been sold and the government had expected to raise £30bn by 2011. Yesterday the chancellor raised that target to £48bn, including an expected £6bn windfall from selling on student loans to the private sector.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics9">Continue reading...</a>BusinessBudget 2007PoliticsMediaEconomic policyTelevision industryBudgetThu, 22 Mar 2007 08:35:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/business/2007/mar/22/budget2007.politics9Richard Wray2007-03-22T08:35:20Z